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Fundraising heats up in 6th District congressional race

By Rick Sobey, rsobey@lowellsun.com

Updated:
07/18/2014 08:14:41 AM EDT

Endless political ads could soon start to flash across your TV screen.

Two of the candidates challenging longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. John Tierney raised what some observers are calling an impressive amount of money from April to June, as each challenger ended the second quarter of the year with around $800,000 in their respective war chests, their campaigns told The Sun on Monday.

Despite the strong numbers from Democrat Seth Moulton and Republican Richard Tisei, the incumbent of 18 years from the 6th Congressional District still held the fundraising lead with around $1.

"I think it's definitely the most competitive congressional district in Massachusetts, so national party leaders are watching this one," said Frank Talty, director of UMass Lowell's Center for Public Opinion. "It's still leaning Democratic in most national surveys, but I think most Republicans consider it in play.

"That's the one to watch of all the races in the state," he added. "I don't see any money in the 3rd District (U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas), but the 6th District is the one."

According to a spokesperson for the Tierney campaign, he raised more than $400,000 from April to June, leaving more than $1.2 million on hand.

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Lauren Soltani, press secretary for the Tierney campaign, said it was a strong quarter for Tierney as the campaign maintained its lead in overall fundraising.

She pointed out that 86 percent of the contributions were $50 or less and that donations came from the "grass-roots support of more than 3,700 individual contributors who are backing John because they know there's no better advocate for women and families, workers, students, seniors and veterans.

"We remain confident that we will have the resources we need to win in November," she added in a statement.

Tisei and Moulton also raised more than $400,000 in the second quarter.

According to the Tisei campaign's quarterly report, he raised almost $469,000. Tisei, who has been a state representative and state senator, spent $218,000 in the second quarter to finish June with $820,000 overall.

"This quarter's incredible success wouldn't have been possible without broad support throughout the district," Ryan Gough, Tisei's campaign manager, said in a statement. "We deserve an independent voice in Congress who works every day for the people of Massachusetts, and our strong quarterly number is only one indication that people are ready for new leadership in Washington.

Moulton raised $414,000 from April to June and spent $271,000, according to a spokesperson for Moulton's campaign. The Marine turned health-care entrepreneur had about $790,000 overall at the end of June.

"Four consecutive quarters of strong grass-roots fundraising have put us in a position to get our message out and win the primary," Carrie Rankin, communications director for Moulton, said in a statement. "While our opponent is counting on checks from special-interest groups, our numbers reflect overwhelming grassroots support."

Tierney barely held on to his seat in 2012 after a strong run by Tisei in the 6th Congressional District, which is made up of 39 towns, including Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Tewksbury and Wilmington. This time around adds a primary challenger who has raised a lot of money, which could impact the general election, according to Talty.

"Tierney clearly has the leg up over Moulton in the primary. It's very, very difficult for an upset like that. But on the other hand, if it's a serious race in the primary, then that will drain funds from Tierney and makes it much more difficult for the general election," Talty said.

While Talty emphasized the race will be competitive, it will be interesting to see how much money comes in from out-of-state, he said. National Republicans are more focused on the U.S. Senate races, including the Scott Brown-Jeanne Shaheen race in New Hampshire, according to Talty.

"The House is probably not going to go Democratic, so looking at the big picture, national Republicans see how they don't even need the Tierney seat to keep the House," Talty said. "So it appears the money will tend to go to the Senate.

"But if it's competitive enough between Tierney and Tisei, then money will likely come in on the Republican side if they sense a turnover," he added.

Immigration lawyer Marisa DeFranco, who unsuccessfully tried to get on the Democratic ballot in the state's 2012 Senate race, is also running against Tierney in the Democratic primary. John Patrick Devine and John J. Gutta will also run in the primary.

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